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Major Sports Associations Speaking out in Favor of LGBT Rights, against Religious Liberty

Major Sports Associations Speaking out in Favor of LGBT Rights, against Religious Liberty

A number of professional sports organizations are discriminating against those who stand for their Christian beliefs: specifically, that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Genevieve Wood of The Daily Signal cites a number of examples of discrimination from the NFL, NBA, and U.S. Soccer against those who hold conservative views about marriage.

Back in March, the NFL said it may decline to hold future Super Bowl’s in Atlanta if Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed a religious liberty bill which would have exempted those with religious convictions from catering to those in the LGBT community.

“NFL policies emphasize tolerance and inclusiveness, and prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other improper standard,” said an NFL spokesman.

However, Wood notes, “The Georgia legislation did not take rights away from anyone. As a matter of fact, had Deal not vetoed the bill, the NFL would have been completely free to feature a same-sex wedding on the 50-yard line during a Super Bowl halftime show if they chose to do so.”

North Carolina was also under fire from professional sports for the bill Gov. Pat McCrory recently signed which mandated that transgenders have to use the bathroom corresponding to their biological gender, at least until they had undergone a complete sex change.

Although, after the backlash, Gov. McCrory amended the law to apply only to public establishments and allowed private establishments to enact their own policies, what Wood calls a “commonsense measure” left the NBA “deeply concerned.”

Additionally, U.S. Soccer has also said it may prevent future games from being played in North Carolina due to the law.

Wood notes that America’s major sports associations have been “cozying up to the LGBT community for some time.”

Wood is concerned that the extensive concern for the LGBT community comes at the expense of those who continue to hold conservative, Christian beliefs.